Robert Pepper – Net neutrality is a dichotomous false choice – tyranny vs chaos. It is not necessary to create a regulation regime, but we need a to deal with violations on a case by case basis. For example, a small phone company was blocking the ports needed by Vonage. FCC told them to stop.
Vinton G. Cerf – Not discriminatory access. Everyone can access whatever they like without constraint. This was a part of the fundamental architecture of the internet – you don’t have to negotiate with each provider individually. Problem is that consumers don’t have a choice when it comes to broadband and switching is difficult. The current duopoly and monopolies tend to be anticompetitive. How do regulate that? One side says legislate it. The other side says that is dangers because getting the law right is difficult. It is not appropriate for the broadband provide to take control of the lower layers to control at what happens at the higher layers. Consumer’s right to common and undistorted access should be preserved.
Robert Pepper – Don’t regulate the internet deal with issues on a case by case basis.
Vinton G Cerf – I worry about case by case stuff because you have to deal with them one by one. Much more interested in a laying out a framework that spells out legal framework.
Robert Pepper – double pay is unacceptable. You shouldn’t have to pay for the access and then make Google pay extra to ensure you get decent access to Google. Instead you pay more for a higher class of service. For example, Movielink paid Bell South extra money to give a faster download for their movies on a trial basis. The “free ride” argument is not a legit argument.
Vinton G Cerf – the ability to let users pay more for faster short term access is perfectly acceptable.
Both – Preferential treatment for any provider is unacceptable. IE Comcast wants to launch a portal and blocks out yahoo or redirects yahoo requests to their portal. Focus on a constructive argument that protects the customer and prevents monopoly like behavior. How to achieve is the debate.